ClearBank, a cryptocurrency-friendly neobank and regulated provider of faster payments in the UK, plans to join the Circle Payments Network (CPN), linking its cloud-native banking platform to Circle’s blockchain-based infrastructure to accelerate cross-border payments and offer access to regulated stablecoins.
The move follows a new strategic agreement between the UK-founded clearing bank and Circle Internet Group, the company behind the USDC and EURC stablecoins. ClearBank will become one of the first European banks to integrate with CPN, allowing customers to transfer funds globally at near-instant speed while maintaining regulatory transparency, according to a press release.
It’s an interesting move because ClearBank was reportedly looking to bring its own stablecoin to the table. However, reading between the lines and dealing with entities such as the Bank of England has not been easy.
There is a lot going on when it comes to the use case of stablecoins for payments. Since Circle launched its CPN in April of this year, the company’s main revenue-sharing partner, Coinbase, has joined the party with a stablecoin-based payments offering.
ClearBank’s collaboration focuses on expanding access to Circle Mint, a platform that allows financial institutions to mint and redeem USDC and EURC. Both tokens are fully reserved and designed to comply with the new European Cryptoasset Markets (MiCA) regulation.
ClearBank said it will also explore new use cases with Circle, including stablecoin-based treasury services and tokenized asset settlements. These advances could make routine financial operations, such as corporate payments or international remittances, faster and cheaper by reducing reliance on legacy banking systems.
ClearBank CEO Mark Fairless called the partnership a “milestone” in the company’s efforts to modernize cross-border finance, while Circle’s vice president for partnerships in EMEA, Sanja Kon, said the collaboration will expand access to “open, programmable money” in the European financial system.
